LOCALadk Magazine

18 Winter 2017 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Up & Comer(s) My name is Alex Saltsman, I am 11 years old and live in Altamount, NY. NYSEF means a lot to me because it's my future. It provides me with train- ing and opportunities to progress and to get to the next level, where I want to be, which is the X Games. If I hadn't joined NYSEF, I would not be where I am today and doing things like tricks off jumps; I would only be dreaming of doing these things. I got started with NYSEF last year in 2016, when I saw the Gore Free- style team doing tricks off jumps, such as flips and spins. That is what I had wanted to do for a long time, ever since I started skiing at the age of four. It was my dream, and it came true when I asked my parents if I could join NYSEF, and they said yes. The best thing about NYSEF is the coaches and the good training. The coaches are good because they give you proper training and motivation. They know that you can do a lot more than you think you can do, so they give you an extra push in the right direction. Also, we get to go to the Olympic Jumping Complex and jump off the ramps and the trampolines. You can also go to the Olympic Train- ing Center and jump off the trampo- lines into a lot of pads. That helps me to learn new tricks and to perfect my jumping skills so that I can have better awareness and land safely when I do the jumps in snow. Since my team lives so far away from the Olympic Training Center, we go to a local gymnastics center to train on the trampolines in the off season, when we are not training at the Olym- pic Training Complex in the summer. This keeps me physically fit and pre- pares me for the winter season for freestyle skiing. My name is Beckett Ledger. I am 17 years old and I am a Nordic combined skier. I am from Lake Placid. I currently compete for USA Nordic and the New York Ski Educational Foundation. I'm a member of the US Junior National Nordic Combined team. When I was in 4th grade, an an- nouncement came over the loud- speaker at school saying that anyone could tr y ski jumping on Wednesday nights for just $5. I think I went to ev- er y 'Learn to Fly Wednesday' that win- ter, and the next winter I signed up for NYSEF. Learn to Fly Wednesdays got me into ski jumping, and my mom got me into the cross countr y side of Nordic combined. She had just picked up skate skiing, so it was something for us to figure out together. The year after that, I joined the NYSEF Nordic Combined program and I was hooked. I vividly remember going to practice the day after I got braces when I was 10 or 11 and was just hating ever y- thing until I got there. As soon as I took my first jump I couldn't feel the pain at all. It was just so much fun that nothing else mattered. For me, NYSEF helped me find my passion. With a strong development program in place, I discovered how much I love flying. NYSEF taught me to be balanced. I had to train for two completely different sports, compete, and go to school all at the same time. Northwood School and their relation- ship with NYSEF was also ver y help- ful. Northwood allowed me to miss school for travel and competitions. One marking period I was present in class for only one week total, and I ended up scoring my highest GPA in the two years I attended Northwood. Ultimately, NYSEF helped me find my dream and gave me the chance to chase that dream. The moment I thought, "This is what I want to do. This is what I want to do with my life," happened when I started jumping the k90. That is when I really got addicted to it. Aside from def ying gravity for a few seconds ever y jump, the best part about Nordic combined is that when you are jumping, or skiing hard for that matter, nothing else mat- ters. It's complete focus in that ver y mo- ment, and that just doesn't happen many times in your day. Alex Saltsman Beckett Ledger New York Ski Education Foundation

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